Color Me

Fist marks

The streets were quiet today.
School had been awesome but absolute hell.
Those boys keep harassing her for no reason.
So what she's not like other girls doesn't make her a bad kid right?
Kai felt good about herself. Stuck in her head and skipping in the streets.

The hit was swift and she didn't see it coming. For the first time she didn't see anything.
Pain thats the first thing she pin pointed on.
It kept coming and coming,  her head, her ribs and everywhere that feels.

She tried to ope her eyes some liquid was covering them.
She wanted to wipe it off but her hands felt immobile. Pain exploded when she tried to move her right hand.
She couldn't see. She tasted iron like copper. Blood!  She could taste it.
All she could do was scream. Her body felt like it wasnt hers.
She could feel it but she didnt feel as if it was real.
Ears ringing with pain, eyes covered in blood. Body like a ragdoll all mangled and abused.
She twitched for a bit. Her muscles trying to resume enough function to take her away from this gore and abuse.
No movement ever transpired.

He searched dustbins and trashbins for food or anything really.
He collected treasures you see. Anything could be a treasure. Barnie didnt have anything but to him he had everything he needed.
He tripped over a pair of small shoes.
He looked back in annoyance. The small shoes had legs and legs led to a body, a childs body.
Barnie tried to shake her awake but only blood bubbled out of her mouth. She was covered in it like someone had spray painted her red.
Barnie knew there was hospital close by. He didn't hurt her so he wouldn't get in trouble with anyone.
And he knew he had to help her.
"Dont worry I'll help ya. You keep breathing right little fella."
He carted her up in his trolley filled with his treasures,  covered the little one up with blankets. He kept wondering was she too warm or he needed to add more.
"Focus Barnie. Look its putting blood on your treasures. Its still bleeding. I have to hurry."

Barnie ran through the streets. As usual everyone he passed ignored him. The cart bumped in the streets, one wheel a little loose.
Fiy he could see the big building. It had big cars that had lights on them. The lights were nice.

A nurse was exiting the hospital. She saw a homeless man with a loaded cart staring at the ambulances parked outside.
She smiled he looked so in thralled. She thought she'd go say hie and maybe get him some dinner. He looked like a child with his fascination.
Eyes shinning and smiling lips curled, showing dirty teeth but still smiling.

"Hello. Do you like the lights? "
"hello. The lights are pretty. Miss can you help this little one?"
He removed the blankets covering the child.
Rosie would have screamed if she wasn't a nurse. But still the sight of that child in the cart. Bloody and beaten barely breathing as far as she could see.
She started calling for help and a stretcher was broughg forward.
Other nurses came forward,  they carefully moved the child from the cart to the bed.

Barnie watched people touching the child and saying words he didn't understand but he heard blood amongst them so he knew it was bad.  The miss who had smiled at him had gone with the little fella.
He decided he'd wait for the little fella to  come out or maybe the pretty miss.

Nobody bothered him as he sat on the ground playing with his treasures and humming a song he didn't know the name of but he loved it anyway.

The  sun was gone. He needed to find his sleeping corner before long. He packed up his treasures then he saw her handing him one of his treasures.
He took it and smiled at her.

"Hello miss. Is the little one okay now? Is it still bleeding? It left blood on my blankets see?"
Rosie watched him as he showed her his soiled blankets. She made a mental note to get him more. She prayed he hadn't been the one who had hurt that child.
"Whats your name?"
"Barnie miss."
"Well Barnie my name is Rosie. Do you think you can tell my friend here what happened to the child you brought here?"
Barnie looked at Rosie's friend. He was a policeman. Barnie didn't wanna get in trouble. So he hid behind Rosie and looked at the police man from his hiding place.

Rosie could feel him shaking. Barnie was afraid.
"Its okay he's just my friend. He wants  to help the little one."
Barnie stayed behind Rosie but he nodded at the police man.
"I found the little fella when i was looking for treasures. I can show you the place. I didn't hurt the little one. I found lil fella already hurt and bleeding."
"Alright can you show us where you found the child?"

Kai felt like her body was on fire but at the samee time pinned down by a monster truck.
Her head could have been a pin cushion for all she knows.
Eye lids weighing a hundred pounds each. After some attempts, she finally succeeded in opening them.
White ceiling, smells like medicine and beeping sounds, only one place; hospital.
She groaned as the pain from her neck down made itself known.
Her groan must have alerted someone. She heard shuffling and her mom came into view.
"Mo-Mom" her throat was dry as a desert and talking was like swallowing nails.
"Here baby. Drink this. Slowly Kai."
Kai was coughing up water that she had gulped down but now drank slowly.
She felt better already.
"I wanna go home mom"
"Well hie to you too. Lets get the doctor here first and see how you are doing."
"Mom I'm fine. I just wanna go home."
"Kai please. Just calm down okay. I wanna go home too baby."

The doctor assessed her. She'd be released the next day.
Her arm was broken,  bruised ribs, twisted ankle and the source of her headache a nice gash on her scalp that stretched just outside her hairline that made it visible and into her scalp.  Two thirds of it was covered by hair. The rest of her body was just bruises and marks.
She couldn't remember who had done it but it was more than one person. She hadn't seen their faces.

Kai just wanted to  go home and see her mom smiling again not being a worry wart.